


I ain't afraid of no ghost

by DairyFarmer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Possession, Pre-Relationship, alfor and lance are bros, alfor is a hot dad, alfor was the blue paladin, keith would love to see ghosts, lance can see ghosts, medium lance, pre-relationship klance, psychic lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-05 23:33:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10320068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DairyFarmer/pseuds/DairyFarmer
Summary: When Lance was little he used to have a lot of friends- boys and girls years older and younger from all over the neighborhood. Older men and women, some nice and some not. Lance's family never had an issue with his friends...until he realized they couldn't see them.XxXAU where everything's the same except Lance can see ghosts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: oooo guess what!!!! due to the increase of requests over the course of months (and one very interesting offer of incentive) this fic is gunna be multichaptered!! (maybe like 1 or two? depending on how much i can squeeze out of this au)  
> 

When Lance was little he used to have a lot of friends- boys and girls years older and younger from all over the neighborhood. Older men and women, some nice and some not. Lance's family never had an issue with his friends...until he realized they couldn't see them.

And it was all cousin Roberto's fault.

It was almost a picturesque memory- one day they were out playing, enjoying the sun and light breeze- and Lance spotted the girl he usually played with by the river that ran at the bottom of the hill by his home. And Lance, being the sweet and cordial boy his is, tried to wave her over to join him and Roberto on the swings where they were taking turns pushing each other.

But she didn't come.

She had smiled faintly but stayed out by the shade of the tree line.

Watching them.

She was always so quiet, never spoke. Lance didn't even know her name. She also dressed weird, in a long, lacy dress that hid everything except for her shiny black shoes (which Lance advised her wasn't wise- they were too nice to ruin by playing outside, he'd gotten spanked too often for dirtying his nice clothes that he was forced to wear for weddings, funerals, and Easter mass)

But Lance had figured she was shy with Roberto there- since as far as Lance could recall they only ever met to play, which tended to happen when Lance went by the river to collect pretty rocks (Lance never found it strange that she was always at the river and always in the same clothes). In order to lessen the shyness he decided to be the bridge of communication and introduce his cousin to one of his friends.

It just seemed like a thing you were supposed to do.

It took a while for Lance to get Roberto to stop whining once he stopped pushing his swing, grabbing his hand once he finished complaining and running towards his friend who was watching him with curious eyes as they approached.

"Roberto, I want you to meet one of my friends!" Lance had exclaimed happily when they stopped in front of the tree she was standing by. Lance had been so proud, puffing his chest out in pride because this was _his_ friend and wasn't Lance such a good person for making sure no one felt left out? Mamma would be proud.

"....Where?" Roberto asked blankly, making a show of looking all around where they were standing. Lance felt his shoulders instantly bristle in offense, a strange feeling of indignation swirling in his chest as his nameless friend twisted her hands in front of her in clear discomfort. 

Now Lance knew that Roberto wasn't the most tactful of people- he hogged Lance's toys and cried _a lot,_ but that still didn't explain why he was being such a jerk!

So Lance did what mamma always did when _he_ was being rude. He smacked the back of Roberto's head and started yelling at him for being mean to his friend.

Then Roberto, who was angry at being unjustifiably hit, started yelling as well and even went as far as to hit Lance _back_.

And Lance has watched enough novelas to know that he could not just take a clear challenge lying down.

But fights led to yelling. Yelling led to attention. And attention led to the eventual attraction of Lance's older sister Marcie, who was babysitting them.

On her intervention Roberto started pointing fingers, yelling about how Lance hit him _"for no reason"_.

Which Lance then combated by screaming about how Roberto was being mean to his friend by ignoring her.

Marcie (the annoyingly diplomatic person she was) asked where Lance's friend was. And when Lance them preceded to point to the spot beside her, right at the base of the tree, where his friend had remained unmoving the entire time- Marcie gave him a look he had never received from her before.

And he didn't like it.

XxX

Marcie told their mamma about Lance's " _friend_ " after they got home and dropped Roberto off at his house.

Mamma scheduled a doctor's appointment for that same week after listening to whatever it was Marcie told her.

Even trying to listen in on his parent's conversations yielded no results. _'An imaginary friend?'_ his mamma and papa would say in questioning voices _'at his age?'_

They were talking about him, Lance knew that much. But still nobody told him what was _wrong_.

XxX

The "doctor" his mamma forced him to go to asked him confusing questions about his friends-how many were there, what did they look like, did they ever tell him to do things, did they ever tell him to hurt himself.

The doctor didn't believe Lance when he insisted that his friends were _real_ and _wouldn't_ hurt him. He could see it in his eyes that the doctor didn't believe him.

Lance didn't like the doctor.

In fact, Lance doubted he even was a _real_ doctor. He was probably a phony. Lance knew because doctors were supposed to give you lollipops after you were done visiting and made you sit on high tables that were covered in wrinkly paper.

But the doctor mamma brought him to did none of that- all he did was make Lance sit at a kid's table and draw about how he 'felt' and what he 'saw' then ask him questions that made Lance feel like he was a liar that made things up.

Which was why Lance didn't tell the doctor about the young man that looked like him, who hung around in his office with them during their "sessions". The young man was what Lance thought _he_ would grow up to look like when he got older-a lady's man. With thick thighs, broad shoulders and a confident smirk. Lance would bet his left leg that his older sister, Danielle, would trip over herself for a chance to talk to him.

It was after one of the sessions with his "doctor" that Lance finally found out who or really _what_ his friends were.

In the hallway leading to the doctor's office were several picture frames- newspaper and magazine clippings, certificates, awards, and photos. In one these pictures was the same young man from the office standing with another boy, one who shared similar features but was clearly older.

Lance stopped just before he leaving and turned to his "doctor" standing in the corridor with him.

"Who's that guy?" Lance asked curiously, pointing towards the picture that caught his attention. The doctor smiled slightly and looked down at Lance.

"That's me when I was younger." He explained softly, an odd nostalgic edge to his voice.

Lance looked up at the picture, squinting slightly. The older boy _did_ look like the doctor, his nose had that same bump at the bridge and his chin stuck out in the same way too.

"No, the _other_ boy!" Lance stressed.

His doctor lips curved down, a slash of something crossing his face before it was quickly wiped away.

"That's my younger brother." He replied simply. Not offering any sort of elaboration.

"Where is he?" Lance probed, wondering if the doctor even noticed how many offhanded comments his brother made during their sessions (many of which contained words mamma would scrub his mouth with soap for if he ever dared to repeat them).

"He passed away some time ago." The doctor said quietly, a tightening in his jaw that Lance recognized enough to know he shouldn't probe further.

It took a minute to hit Lance. For the realization to reach him.

And Lance stayed silent after he did. He waited quietly for his mom to pick him up and then refused to return to the doctor's office when it came time for the next session.

XxX

Lance didn't go to the river anymore.

Maybe because he was afraid that he was going to be proved right, even if  he already knew it was.

Because his friends weren't 'transparent' like the cartoons always said they were. If Lance really thought about it- they just always seemed...tired. Their coloring was washed out and they always seemed like some invisible  _weight_ was constantly pressing down on them.

And so Lance didn't bring up his other friends again, and if he passed by someone in weird clothes or with a vaguely haggard and grey appearance then he didn't look twice.

His mamma was concerned about him for a long time afterwards, insisting he continue to see his 'psychologist' for his own good (the apparent title of his 'not-a-doctor').

But Lance refused. He didn't talk to his 'friends' anymore so what did it matter?

It didn't matter at all, in fact.

Because Lance didn't have any friends. Not anymore

At least until the summer before third grade. When Lance made his first _real_ friend- a boy named Hunk that loved Legos and watching Iron Chef. As soon as Lance told Hunk this, he nearly cried at having the honored position of being Lance's 'first friend'.

His mamma never brought up Lance's previous "friends" around Hunk and Lance never told him. 

And Lance would convince himself that it'd just been a childhood phase- imaginary friends born from a wild imagination. That's what it was- that's what it had to be.

He couldn't have know that it would be years later, when they they were trillions of light years away from Earth that Lance open up about _that_ part of himself

XxX

The thing about the Castle of Lions was that it _unnerved_ Lance for the first month they stayed in it.

There were only supposed to be seven people on-board (excluding the mice). But there were times Lance would catch a figure out of the corner of his eye when he was alone in the hallway of the castle or _swear_ that someone was at the end of his bed watching him some nights.  Lance thought he was going crazy, that it was the stress Allura and Shiro were putting on them making him _see_ things.

And Lance was content to believe that...until he caught one of them in his room.

XxX

Lance had just come out of the shower when he stumbled upon what was clearly a tall, armored Altean curiously observing his collection of face exfoliates, masks, and moisturizers.

The Altean was _big_ , like bigger than Shiro in both height, width, and _beef_. He towered over Lance in blue armor with gold accents, and a cool looking cape. His hair was long and choppy, reaching his chin and a beard that gave him a scruffy appearance. His eyes were a stunning blue, contrasting beautifully with his dark skin and white hair. This man was probably the _hottest_ thing Lance had ever seen, (exactly his type) and he was standing in _Lance's_ room.

So Lance did what came natural.

 _"Hellooo_ ," Lance drawled out as he slowly sauntered over to the man. The Altean looked startled at Lance’s words, turning to look at him, seeming even more shocked when he saw that Lance was looking _directly_ at him.

It didn't even occur to Lace to question what a member of the supposedly extinct race was doing in his room.

“What’s your name hot-stuff?" Lance asked parking himself beside the future Mr. McClain. "Mine’s Lance, but you can call me the _man of your dreams,_ ” Lance added a wink for good measure- that and because presentation was _everything_. The Altean watched Lance with wide eyes for nearly a full second before his expression slowly melted to amused.

' _Jackpot_ ', Lance thought excitedly to himself.

Soft eyes focused on him before McThottie softly began introducing himself, speaking so lowly Lance almost had to strain to hear.

“I am King Alfor." He began, deep voice sending shivers down Lance's spine. "Of Planet Altea and former Paladin for the Blue Lion of Voltron.”

Lance’s eyes immediately widened at his words, and only then did he notice...the heavily slumped shoulders....and the washed out appearance of Alfor.

_'Well shit.'_

XxX

“Soooooo, you’re Allura’s dad?” Lance asked after a large gap of awkward silence, after he had backed away from the...specter.

Alfor nodded and watched Lance with careful eyes. Lance suddenly felt a rush of realization at his current state of dress- because there was something fundamentally uncomfortable about standing in front of a King in only a towel.

“Could you... uhmm-” Lance began, making a 'turning' motion with his hand because Lance had a feeling Allura, present or not, would _not_ be a fan of having Lance flash her father. Her _dead_ father.

Damn that was such a messed up line of thinking.

Alfor’s eyebrows creased in confusion before widening in realization.

“Oh, of course! Forgive me.” Alfor whipped around to face his wall and Lance quickly threw on his castle provided pajamas, opting to forsake underwear for the sake of having _something_ on.

“You can turn around now.” Lance breathed as he dumped his wet clothes and towel in the laundry duct mounted on his wall. Alfor slowly turned and carefully eyed Lance.

“So you are Blue’s new paladin,” he observed after a beat of silence. Lance nodded, not trusting himself to speak- because...what does one do in the case of meeting something you fervently denied existed?

Alfor, seeing his unease, offered a gentle smile.

“Have you been keeping up with your training?” He asked softly. Lance had a feeling he was just trying to ease Lance into making conversation. It worked because Lance nodded, feeling like it was a safe topic to breach, and motioned towards his bayard and suit hanging on his closet door. Alfor spotted them immediately, eyes locked as he took a noiseless step forward to approach them. Slowly. he lifted an armored hand and moved to trail it down the side of Lance’s suit- or he would have _trailed_ his hand down if it didn’t go through them. Alfor stared down at his hands in dismay, something deeper shining in his eyes that pulled at Lance's chest. Before he could stop himself, Lance carefully approached him.

“It...must take some getting used to doesn’t it?” He begins slowly, feeling like he was walking on eggshells.

Alfor nodded.

”It’s very easy to forget...when everything _feels_ real, you only remember when...you try to touch someone or _something_ , or say something...but no one listens.” Alfor sighed. And Lance couldn't help but feel like he looked absolutely like the most tired person in the Universe.

And Lance nodded sympathetically. He could only imagine what it would feel like to be Alfor.

Alfor reached out once again and tapped the chest plate, almost as if to _double check_ that he couldn’t touch it. And once again his hand sank through the recently shined armour. Lance felt his heart swell in sadness.

No. No, he _couldn’t_ imagine what it was like to be Alfor.

“So why stick around?" Lance asks, brows furrowed as he took in Alfor's disappointed expression. "If it hurts to remember...why bothering staying?” Lance asked curiously.

And wasn't that a question?

Why?

_Why bother sticking around? Why do this to yourself? Why suffer? Why... do I have to see you suffer?_

“My daughter still needs me,” Alfor responds.

Lance freezes.

“I left her too early," He sighs, eyes cloudy with pain. "No child should have to feel the pain of losing their parent.”

For a moment Lance thinks back to his own parents back on Earth. Thinks of how much pain they must be in...and for the first time in his life- tries to console one the ghosts he had spent years pretending didn’t exist.

XxX

“Al do you think I’m a good Paladin?” Lance asks as he lounges back in bed, wearing one of his face masks. Alfor, who was entertaining himself by attempting to reorganize his old (and Lance’s new) closet, hummed in response.

“The Blue Lion chooses her Paladin," He begins sagely. "She alone is the deciding factor in your worth as one of her chosen warriors...besides she hasn’t tried to eat you yet so I think you’re doing fine.”

“ _What_!?” Lance shrieks, shooting up from his bed with something like fear curling in his gut. “They can do that!?”

Alfor’s deep laughter cuts into his panicked thoughts.

“ _Oh_ -for the love of-” Lance gasps, groping his bed for a pillow to launch at the hunched over Alfor- but of course it phases right through him, “ _you are such a jerk_!” Lance breaks out, huffing slightly, but his smile betrays his actual feelings.

Surprisingly, as soon as Lance got over his shock of not only hitting on Allura’s dead dad and the slowly dwindling reluctance to recognize him-he was actually good company.

And Alfor was pretty talkative, after having no one to speak to for 10,000 years Lance couldn't imagine what the silence was like. Blue was all the way on Earth so he couldn’t even tap into their psychic bond to makeup for the loneliness. And even if he _somehow_ could, their connection had been cut off the moment Alfor had been killed. 

And wasn't that a bomb Lance dropped on his lovely Lady Blue?

The pure surprise and confusion Lance had felt through their bond when he brought Alfor to the hanger and reintroduced them-she had purred for days afterward, so much so that Coran actually became concerned that there was something mechanically wrong with the Blue Lion.

Lance smiled at the memory, due to Alfor’s deceased nature- his and Blue’s connection was something of a weak trickle. Lance could only serve as a middle man between them when they wanted to talk. It was a good system- letting them both air out their dirty laundry and reach some sense of peace, especially since Blue had been forced to abandon her paladin in his time of greatest need and was convinced she played a role in his death.

Lance had just taken a slow breath, reclining back on his bed and enjoying the pleasant still silence of his room- when Alfor broke it with a question Lance had been secretly hoping he'd never ask.

XxX

“Why have you have not told my daughter about me?” The quiet question breaks Lance out of his thoughts, freezing him in place. Lance glances towards Aflor who was kneeled on the floor by his closet, watching him inquisitively. Lance sighs, it's not like he’d been _waiting_ for this question. Dreading it mostly. Because he knew what he had to say-

“I can’t." He murmured. “She won’t believe me.”

“The Altean people are very open minded-," Alfor began, his tone sounding like he was trying to convince Lance. "-she will understand not everything can be explained by science or logic or even magic-" He cut off. Alfor suddenly rose, approaching Lance with short strides and gazing down at him imploringly "...and she would want to know that I am still with her Lance.” He said softly, sounding a hairsbreadth away from begging.

Lance bit his lip, nobody had ever believed him before. Before Lance decided to shut up- not even his own family saw any credit to his words. They wouldn’t believe him no matter how many times he insisted it was the truth. Finally after his older brother snapped at Lance to _“stop lying”_   he'd just decided to stop bringing it up around them- then Lance decided to stop bringing it up at all, to everyone.

It's not like it mattered anyway- it wasn’t a big deal.

But for a moment, Lance imagined what it would be like to tell Allura.

Would she get mad at him? It's not like the two had a particularly close relationship.

Would she yell at him? Lance could easily picture that happening.

Would she cry? Lance didn’t know...but he hoped if she ever did that he wouldn't be the cause of it.

Which is why he kept his mouth shut, ignored Alfor’s hints and only acknowledged his new friend when he knew he was alone- even though it hurt both of them when did that.

“It’s too big of a risk Al, besides nobody ever believes me.” Lance mutters.  Alfor stayed silent for a long time afterward.

“They’re your friends, they won’t brush you aside.” Alfor says, voice trying to sound encouraging but Lance could still hear the edge of hurt in his voice at Lance's rejection.

Lance didn't respond, continuing to lay on his bed, silently staring at the ceiling until Hunk knocked on his door to alert him about it being dinner time before leaving Alfor alone in the room.

XxX

“How would I even do it?” Lance finally asks Alfor as he was brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. At his question Alfor instantly perks up, staring at him with eyes shining in what Lance could only interpret as hope.

“It’s not exactly something you can just input into a conversation like _‘hey Allura I’ve been chatting it up with your dad’s ghost at any free moment I have Isn’t that wild? Also he says ‘hi’_ ”

Alfor chuckled lightly at Lance’s words.

“Do not worry my friend." He assures, rising up and smiling softly at Lance with a smile eerily similar to Allura's whenever Coran would do something particularly eccentric. "The right time will come.” He adds soothingly. Lance groans and flops down on his bed.

“I hate it when you talk like that-it’s all mysterious and makes me paranoid,” Lance whines. Alfor smirks at him from across his room and Lance pouts at him in return before making hand motions to shoo him away once he started getting tucked into bed. Without another word, Alfor graciously bows (though Lance is sure he's being mocked) before swiftly phasing through a nearby wall even though he knows Lance hates when he does that.

 _'The right time'_ , what did that even mean?

It turns out that “the right time” would come just a few short months later in the middle of an attack by the Galra.

XxX

They had been so grossly unprepared for the attack.

It was one of the rare instances in which Voltron was forced to run rather than fight. There were too many fighters, too many cruisers, too many of _everything_  -there was no way they could take them on.

So wormhole away it was.

But there was an issue: Allura was injured.

 _Badly_.

Enough so that she needed to be put in a healing pod.

It had happened on-planet, before the Galra ships showed up. The mission was to establish ties with the Planet of Yuthi. It was simple. Practically routine.

But Allura and Coran placed too much faith in the people, too dependent on a 10,000 year-old alliance between their people and the Yuthea of old- but that didn't seem to matter since they were betrayed to the Galra anyway. Lance couldn't imagine what had been going through Allura's head before she'd been knocked out. 

That element of surprise, that moment of weakness allowed the Galra to surround them.

But they couldn't fight- not without delivering damage to the planet and hurting the innocent civilians, who had _nothing_ to do with the decisions of their leaders, inhabiting it.

“Coran we need to get out of here!” Shiro yelled as he took his place in the front seat of the command center. Lance had just slipped into his own control panel when Alfor appeared at his side, an unsure expression on his face.

“We are unable at the moment! Allura is out of commission and cannot pilot the ship!" Coran yells back, brow furrowed in clear stress as he scanning his dashboard, evaluating the increasing damage being delivered to the Castle. " I must remain at the helm or else the particle barrier will disintegrate and we’ll take too much damage to make the jump!” Coran exclaimed, his voice filed with more concern and uncertainty than Lance had ever heard from him.

“So what do we _do_?!” Screamed Pidge as they worked frantically to repair damage to the ship from their console.

Coran remained silent.

“ _Coran_?” Hunk pressed hesitantly, fear creeping into his voice as he stared at the royal adviser's back. Lance could feel his own fear bubbling up as the bridge began trembling more and more with each hit the particle barrier took.

“To pilot the castle, at least two people are needed, one for defense, and one to steer.” Coran explained quietly. “I can drop all defenses and hopefully pilot us to safety, although that is unlikely, as all advisers are taught mainly to defend rather than to steer-that was a position reserved mainly for a monarch of Altea...and right now Allura is too hurt to do anything.” Coran said softly, his voice growing weaker with every word, his shoulders slumping lower and lower with each second that passed.

“What does that mean?!” Demanded Keith as he angrily steered his defense drone to attack any fighters in his view. Lance didn't even have to look at him to see his face twisted in dread.

“It means we’re trapped.” Shiro breathed as he gazed up at the frantic attempts to defend by Keith and the overwhelming forces surrounding them.

"If we get the Lions," Keith began, practically spitting out his words, "we can-"

"Not without killing everyone within 1,000 kilometers of the battle!" Shiro snapped back, voice sharp. Lance flinches at the sound and immediately looks down to his dashboard.

The particle barrier was weakening. If they didn't do something...then they'd....they'd all be-

"What do we do?" Keith asks, voice gravelly as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Shiro what do we do?"

Lance could feel his heartbeat begin to pound in his ears at the silence that followed.

"Shiro!" Keith yelled out. "We need a plan!"

The Balmera crystal hanging from the ceiling began trembling from the force of the attacks. 

 _'It's gunna fall,'_ Lance realized _'the particle barrier is gunna fall'_

“This is it,” Hunk whimpered, his wide eyes staring  at the front projector- swarms of Galra began clustering together like wasps, all of their cannons aimed at the castle.

Shiro trembled in the front seat, fists clenched at his side as the purple of the ion cannons began to glow brighter.

Keith released violent, strong curses as he continued to fire his drone into the crowd of Galra fighters.

Pidge let out a muffled sob, Lance could see them struggling to maintain their composure, their wet eyes clouding their vision as they frantically attempted to buy the particle barrier more time. But Lance knew it wouldn't be much.

Was this it?

Was this really it?

They were going to lose? Voltron was going to lose because...because of _bad luck_?

Lance’s hands shook as fear overtook him, a sick feeling coiling in his stomach as his teeth began chattering in uncontrolled fright.

A grey hand suddenly ghosted in front of his face.

“Lance,” Alfor said seriously, coming into his peripheral vision, “you need to pilot the Castle.”

Lance froze. The dread bubbling in his stomach fizzling away almost instantly- replaced by incredulity.

Did he hear that right?

“There’s no time you need to go now!” Alfor hissed as he motioned towards the command where Allura usually stood. Lance shook his head rapidly, whether out of confusion or fear- even he didn’t know.

“ _Y_ _es_ , you must! Just...just let me borrow your body and _I_ can pilot in your place!” Alfor insisted, eyes desperate.

Lance felt something turn cold inside him.

What?

“That’s not possible!” Lance harshly whispered to Alfor, glancing around to see if anyone was watching- unlikely as it may be.

“It _is_ ,” Alfor said sagely, “you have a greater connection to the second world more than anyone else, it’s similar to how Blue sometimes takes control during your flights-it’ll work only for a short time, but long enough for me to get you all out of here!” Alfor explained, hands gripping the armrest of Lance's station.

It briefly crosses Lance's mind that Alfor shouldn't be able to do that.

“How do you know it'll work?” Lance asks, voice weak- because he's _desperate_. Yes. But he's really not up for blind hope at the moment unless he is guaranteed  _results_.

“I don’t.” Alfor states grimly. “But let me _try_ Lance,” Alfor begs, eyes shining with unvoiced emotion. “Allura is still too young to join me.”

That did it. 

That broke down Lance's last doubt- it's like everyone said, he was always a sucker for love.

With a heavy mind sagging in uncertainty and fear, he nodded his consent to Alfor.

Alfor managed to offer a single grateful smile before glowing a dusty blue and _dissolving_ in front of him.

Suddenly a crawling feeling overtook Lance. A cold, empty feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, like he was starving but couldn't eat. His mouth felt dry, like someone had punched him into the stomach and forced handfuls of sand down his throat. His teeth were vibrating and every inch of his skin felt like it was being _pinched_ , it wasn't as if it hurt but it was incredibly _unsettling_ \- like his body was suddenly eight sizes too small and he was _straining_.

Suddenly Lance began to move without his permission, standing up on shaky legs and approaching the helm of the Castle. His steps were too wide, as if he expected to have longer strides but fell short by a few inches.

He, or rather Alfor, slowly placed both palms on the glowing orbs in front of him and applied the _slightest_ bit of pressure, skin barely touching the warm orbs. Lance's head was suddenly stuffed with a visualization of the entire ship within his mind. A tugging in his gut grew stronger as he felt what he could only identify as his _will_ being used to force the Castle into moving.   _‘So this is how that works’_ he thinks idly as he felt the ship begin to tremble under his feet, lifting off from the planet they were stranded on.

“What’s going on?” Coran asks, bafflement clear in his voice as the castle began to swiftly dodge fire from the Galra ships, barely scraping past a shot from an ion cannon.

“Lance! What are you doing!?” Hunk exclaims, turning in his seat as he realized that his best friend was now steering the Castle ship. Pidge and Shiro voice similar exclamations as Lance swiftly avoids the fighters attempting to corner them, speeding towards a nearby moon to avoid enemy fire.

Even as his teammate's voice filter through his ears they feel like they're a million miles away, garbled- like Lance has cotton in his ears.

“Do not be afraid." Lance feels his mouth move, barely recognizing his own voice. "I will deliver us to safety,” Alfor assures in Lance’s voice- his voice sounded...deeper, more soothing.

It was...nice.

From the corner of his eye Lance saw Coran suddenly tense up and whip around the spring loaded rocket.  His eyes, wide in disbelief.

“M-My King?” He squeaked, mouth hanging agape as he scanned Lance- eyes focused on his face as if he was searching for some...sign.

Lance felt his lips curve up, face turning to face the Altean with a gentle smile. Coran who was watching him, frozen in place

“Hello Coran," Alfor asks softly. "How have you been?” 

Coran sucks in sharp breath, lip beginning to tremble as his gaze filled with tears.

“What the hell is going on!” Keith screamed from his station, eyes fluttering between Lance and Coran.

Alfor/Lance’s face creased in concentration, closing their eyes as strength began draining from Lance, instead being flooded into the castle.

 _‘So this is what making a wormhole is like’_ Lance observed as a familiar blue portal opened in front of the castle.

Alfor urged the castle forward, the room shaking on it's entry.

Calm.

As soon as the Castle made it through the wormhole an air of calm overtook the control room.

Lance felt his body slump in exhaustion, Alfor’s presence was.. _doing_ something to him. Lance felt like the light of a candle facing off against the winds of a hurricane. Something inside him was slowly weakening. Coran nearly fell over, racing to Lance’s side.

“Alfor?” Coran asked hesitantly once he reached him. Lance felt himself smile weakly and nod.

Coran let out a chocked cry, kneeling down and gripping Lance's body into a hug.  
"I-I knew it had to be you, my King" he managed to stutter out, "only you can be a reassuring presence in such chaotic times." He sniffed, hands tightly gripping Lance's shoulder as his head lolled back.

Lance could feel Alfor weakening even further the longer he stayed within Lance.

 _'He needs to let go'_ Lance realized

“T-tell Allura...I-” Alfor gasped as air emptied from Lance’s lungs who was now struggling to breathe.

 _‘Alfor you need to let go!_ ’ Lance tried to shout, but his mouth didn't even twitch.

Coran nodded rapidly to whatever Alfor was struggling to say. Shiro came up beside them, eyes widening as he watched the struggled stutter of Lance's chest. 

Distantly, Lance could hear someone yelling for Pidge to activate another healing pod and for Coran to take over steering the ship.

Lance felt his lungs begin to seize, his breathes becoming harsher as his eyes grew heavy with exhaustion.

As Lance's eyes creaked closed, the expressions of his concerned team were the last thing he saw before he slipped into unconsciousness.

XxX

Lance doesn't know how long he was out for. But he does know that he wakes up to a pounding headache, because apparently there were some things even the healing pod couldn’t fix.

Lance groaned lifting a hand to cup his head, not noticing Allura and Coran standing hesitantly in front of him while the rest of his team stood a few steps away, watching the proceedings with curious eyes.

“Father?” Allura asked hesitantly, eyes wide and earnest when Lance finally managed to get the strength to look up at them.

Lance’s eyes creased in confusion.

“Uhhh no, it’s _Lance_ ,” Lance said cautiously, rubbing his eyes as the ache settling behind them slowly grew. When he managed to look back up-Allura’s face had creased in dismay, lips pursed like she was suddenly unsure. Coran stood beside her, attempting to console her.

“Perhaps it was not him,” she murmured sadly, face creasing as she looked away from Lance, hands clenching the fabric of her dress in what Lance instantly recognized as a nervous tick.

“I have worked closely with King Alfor for years, it _was_ him Princess,” Coran insisted. Lance’s head was pounding like someone had decided to take a sledgehammer to it- but he felt like he knew what they were referring to.

“Are you guys talking about Al?” Lance croaked quietly as a new tingle of pain tickled the back of his head. _Jesus_ , he'd murder someone for an ice-pack. 

Allura’s head whipped up to look at him, hope shining in her eyes.

“Are you referring to King Alfor?! Is he here?! Where is he?!” She asked rapidly as she spun around, dress flying wildly as she approached Lance with purposeful steps.

Lance moaned at the line of questioning and at the sudden increase in the room's volume.

What happened to the whispering everyone had been doing? Couldn't they go back to that?

“Allura, quieter please, my head hurts,” he begged. Allura nodded rapidly, pressing a silent finger to her mouth to signify her understanding, it was so unexpectedly adorable that Lance would have appreciated it more if he wasn’t in so much _pain_.

“To answer your questions," He began, closing his eyes to focus on his headache. "Yes, no, and I don’t know” Lance whispered, letting his eyes creak open and scanning the room for someplace to sit.

Hunk, likely noticing his discomfort, rushed forward, supporting most of Lance’s weight with a half-hug.

“Yeah, okay- now that that’s out of the way can we finally get some answers,” Pidge demanded as they shoved their way in front of Allura and Coran in order to stand in front of Lance, their hazel eyes gazing up at him imploringly. Lance met their eyes with his tired gaze.  Waving his hand in a _‘go ahead’_ motion.

“How do you know how to fly the castle? Allura and Coran didn’t teach any of us that.” Pidge asks, eyes shining in curiosity as they studied Lance like they were suddenly some unknown puzzle.

“I _don’t_ know how to fly the castle,” Lance whispered.

Pidge’s eyes creased in confusion.

“But we all _saw_ you pilot it,” they argued, brows furrowing as they glanced at the others for confirmation.

“ _I_ didn’t pilot it, Alfor did.” Lance explained. Pidge’s mouth hung open, mid-question. The silence that overtook the medical bay was stifling.

“You mean Alfor as in _‘King Alfor’_ , Allura’s father?” Shiro asked, confused. Lance nodded before immediate regretting the action,  _dammit_ his head hurt- couldn’t they wait until he was a little more coherent to start asking questions?

“I thought he was dead?” Keith asked quietly, there was a strange curious glint in his eyes- one that Lance had never seen before.

“H-He is,” Allura affirmed shakily, eyes cast down for a moment before continuing. “But Coran believes the spirit of my father entered Lance and saved us while we were in a time of great need.”

“Why would he choose Lance, though? No offense buddy,” Hunk said as he hooked the arm of a slumping Lance over his shoulder.

“No offense taken my dude,” Lance replied, hoarsely. He was beginning to lose consciousness again.

“It may have to do with Lance being the current Blue Paladin and King Alfor being the former Blue Paladin,” Coran offers, eyes creased in thought. Lance chuckled lowly, head flopping on Hunk's shoulder.

“Close Coran my man, but no dice. I been seeing ghosttss my whoole lifffee and I gav 'im permissssion…,” Lance said trailing off as his words began to slur, “I was relly uncoftbl n stuff, I tink I ned to slep,” Lance added as he began to slump further in Hunk’s arms.

But before he did, he had to tell Allura something-

It was something important...

“ ‘llura,” he said looking up at a suddenly attentive Allura. Lance smirked up at her, “ur dads suprrr hot.”

This time Lance fell into unconsciousness with the sight of Allura’s shocked and slightly disgusted face.

XxX

The next time Lance woke up, the pressure that'd been gripping his skull was significantly lighter- less of a 'pounding' and more of a 'throbbing'. 

Not that it  made it a cause for celebration but Lance would take his small miracles where he could get them.

As Lance pushed himself up from what felt like a spongey surface, he immediately recognized the room he was in as the med bay- or at least some branching part of it considering he was laid out on some Altean gurney-like thing. As Lance rose, shuffling to the edge of where he had been laid, he slowly lowered his feet down, releasing a slight breath as he pushed himself to his feet, one hand still gripping the edge of the cot for support.

“Hey.” A voice greeted to his left, startling him nearly a foot in the air. Slowly, Lance turned his head in the vague direction where he'd been called and was met with the sight of one Keith Kogane, leaning against the wall and staring at him with a raised brow.

Lance groaned.

“ _Ughh_ , why are _you_ here? Did you miss me?” Lance asks, voice edged with sarcasm as he tested his weight and took a step forward. Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes and reached for a plate of food goo on the table beside him that Lance hadn't noticed the first time around.

“Don’t flatter yourself," Keith replies, starting forward in a lazy stride as he watched Lance take shaky steps forward. "I lost in rock paper scissors and had to be the one to tell everyone when you woke up.” He says as he shoves the plate into Lance’s hands. Without much prompting, Lance can feel his stomach give a slight cramp of hunger.

“ _Yeah right_ ," Lance fires back. "Hunk would _jump_ at the chance to nurse me back to health because that’s what best friends are for!” He adds, turning his nose up at Keith and doing so fully on the shaky confidence that Keith wouldn't beat up a recently healed person.

Keith doesn't hit him.  But _does_ frown, turning away in a huff and heading towards the door.

Lance lifts the spoon to his mouth, hand somewhat shaky with a strange weakness. Just as he's about to take a bite he spots him.

Alfor is in the doorway- watching him with concerned eyes.

Lance chokes on the spoon, immediately beginning to cough up the food goo he accidentally breathed in.

Keith is back by his side in a second.

“Lance?” He asks, brows furrowed in concern as he lays hard slaps against Lance’s back, trying to help him through his coughing fit. Lance feels the hard thumps against his back practically vaulting him forward, but managed to maintain his footing enough so that he doesn't fly forward. Slowly, his breath returns to him and he feels Keith's "helpful" pats steadily tapering before stopping completely.

Keith breaths a sigh of relief as Lance began to take shaky breaths, before frowning down at him again.

“What happened?” He asks, gaze probing as he watched Lance with intense scrutiny.

Lance chanced a glance at the doorway- Alfor was waiting there patiently.

“Nothing,” Lance murmured as his eyes slid away and back to the floor.

Keith's lips purse together- like he can tell that Lance is lying. Calmly, his gaze flickers to the doorway where Alfor is standing, expression considering, before turning his attention back to Lance.

“Did you see the King?” Keith asks, leaning in closer to Lance than he usually does.

Lance freezes.

“ _Wha_ -?” He asks, sputtering slightly as he feels a million denials already crawling their way up his throat. 

“The ghost?” Keith adds, tilting his head in question as he stares at Lance with an intense gaze, eyes narrowed like he's trying to dissect him with only his vision. "You told us you could see them.”

Lance doesn't think he's breathing anymore. His lungs have definitely stopped expanding because instead all he feels is a heavy stone settling in his gut.

"Well?" Keith asks, raising a brow and shifting from foot to foot in front of Lance. 

Lance feels the tension in his shoulders lesson, if only a little bit, at the sight of Keith being his usual awkward self- alright so no notable behavior has changed, this was _good_.

Slowly, Lance unclenched his jaw- hesitating for a full second before deciding to just throw caution to the _wind_.

“Yeah.” Lance sighed, trying to ignore the swarm of butterflies beating up a storm in his stomach and clenching his clammy palms around the plate Keith had handed him. “He was...standing in the doorway and...startled me.”

Alfor shoots him a vaguely apologetic nod before taking a step back out of the room- clearly for the sake of giving him some privacy with Keith. 

Lance liked Alfor but at the moment really, _really_ _hated_ him for leaving him behind in a room with only Keith for company.

Keith nodded in slow understanding- like he _believed_ every word that had just come out of Lance's mouth and moved to stand beside him. Lance ignored the feeling of Keith's eyes boring into the side of his head as he picked his spoon up again and began pushing around the goo- suddenly he wasn't very hungry.

A crisp silence falls between them, neither of them offering any words as they remained silently standing.

“...What’s it like?” Keith finally asks, voice low as he turned to face Lance.

Lance stopped pushing around his goo and turned his confused gaze towards Keith because surely he couldn't be... _asking_ about it?

“What’s _what_ like?” Lance replies, tilting his head slightly as he took in Keith's expression. It was open, like a book, as dark eyes stared into Lance's blue one's with an unknown emotion swirling in them.

“Seeing the...,” Keith says, making a waving motion to all around them, arms moving like waves as he made a half turn.

“...Ghosts?” Lance asks incredulously, still in disbelief that someone asking about it.

"Is that what they wanna be called?" Keith asks, leaning in closer to Lance's personal bubble, expression turned into what Lance would call _awe_ \- if he didn't know better.

"I...mean...like I don't think they don't _not_ wanna be called ghosts?" Lance replies unsurely as he moves to lean slightly against his gurney. “I...never really noticed a difference when I was younger? You can't really tell the difference unless you know what you're looking for” Lance says.

Keith is nodded slowly along with his words, like completely absorbed by what he's saying.

"So how can you tell?" Keith asks, eyes scanning Lance's face like he's searching for some physical piece that might be helping Lance.

"I...dunno?" Lance shrugs, fingers nervously fiddling together. "They just seem...grey and....sad."

Man is he happy that Alfor decided to dip out on him- because Lance doesn't want to imagine what the look on his face would be if he pointed out how...low Alfor seemed to be sometimes.

“So if I took you to a bunch of places on Earth that are said to be ‘haunted’," Keith immediatly fires off, leaning in close to Lance, "you would be able to like talk to the ghosts there and stuff?” Keith asks, eyes glinting.

Well...technically- Lance has never tried to do something like that. But that doesn't mean he _couldn't_.

So he nods.

“Yeah," He says, voice slightly considering as he slowed to actually think of the logistics. "I mean...as long as they’re not too violent and we can track them down...I guess so?” Lance says. Keith pretty much trembled in excitement.

“That’s so cool.” Keith breathes before freezing as if having just caught onto what he was saying- which was calling Lance _'cool_ _'_.

“What?” Lance asks before he can stop himself and feels slightly dazed.

Keith awkwardly coughs, his eyes shifting away from Lance and to his lap.

“I-mean..." He trails off. "That...that just seems good to know.” He finished lamely.

Lance nodded slowly, not quite believing him but willing to let it slide...for the time being.

The two sat in a slightly comfortable silence, listening to the hum of the castle. Lance was pretty sure the two of them were going to enjoy the ambiance (something that rarely happened between them) when Keith’s sigh broke the silence.

“Okay." He finally broke out, turning to face Lance with a set expression. "I’m going to be honest with you so you better not laugh at me,” Keith says seriously.

Lance immediately nods because is Lance a bit of a dick?

Yeah.

But like...if Keith asks him not to laugh then he won't laugh.

“When I was young," Keith began after scrutinizing Lance with a sharp gaze. "I didn't want to be a pilot….I wanted to be a ghost hunter"

Lance barely manages to suppress the chortle that nearly makes its way out of his mouth.

"I wanted to be like the investigator's on TV but like...a legit one.” Keith whispered to Lance, voice having lowered like he was exposing some deep secret.

Lance supposed that Keith admitting that he wanted to run through the woods and in abandoned building as a career was _kinda_ a secret.

Even if it wasn't a very good one.

“Even now it’s still kinda a hobby of mine." Keith continued. "So...I was hoping-and you don’t have to say yes- if...when we got back to Earth we could… _you know_ ,” Keith emphasized, awkwardly motioning with his hands again. Lance never noticed but he seemed to do that a lot.

As Keith’s words registered, Lance felt a smirk begin to climb onto his face.

“Keith Kogane, " Lance grinned, "Are you asking me to be your _ghost hunting partner_?” Lance asked, wide smile tugging at his cheeks as he began to lean in close to Keith's hotly flushed face.

“N-no!" Keith immediately replied as if on instinct before stopping and attempting to back track. "Well...yes actually...n-never mind! Is it a yes or a no?” Keith demanded.

Lance’s smirk never left his face, but he did shrug his shoulders.

“Sure." He says, scooping some goo into his mouth. "Why not? We can start with my hometown- pretty sure there were tons there. And you can meet my parents!" Lance exclaimed, smiling happily as Keith frowned. "Plus..." Lance trailed off, smile dimming slightly. "There’s someone I need to apologize to..." Lance trailed off, his mind sending him a memory of a girl who wore nice clothes and shiny black shoes, a girl who always seemed so...low.

Keith nods wordlessly beside him as he gazed at the far-away look on Lance’s face. The two of them sat together in silence once again, the only sound being the scrape of Lance's spoon as he steadily lifted goo to his mouth. The air between them was still, almost peaceful. Lance honestly didn't think that was possible for him and Keith- the two of them were always so... _on edge_ about each other like there was some invisible tension between them. But that didn't seem to be the case for them at the moment. Lance felt a small smile begin to tug at his lips as he lifted his spoon to his mouth once again.

Yeah.

He could probably get used to this.

“So do you really think that Allura’s dad is hot?” Keith suddenly asks, voice curious as he turns to look at Lance with a slight tilt to his head.

Lance chokes on the spoon in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: allura, alfor, and lance have a chat


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> allura and alfor get to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well damn i was not expecting another chapter to take me this long :/ id say im sorry but i know that wont stop some of u from wanting to kill me in the real life so im just gunna offer this and hope mercy will save my ass

Lance liked to think that he and Allura were pretty tight.

Maybe not like  _ ‘Hunk’  _ level but the two of them were able to hold amicable conversations- so in Lance’s book that was pretty good. 

Sure maybe Allura was ‘large and in charge’ and Lance’s words had the tendency to annoy rather than endear, but Lance didn’t think that meant he was...unapproachable.

Especially considering recent developments.

In fact, Lance figured that Allura would be her usual probing self, curious and wanting to know what Lance knew (even if the thought of being asked questions he didn’t really have the answers to made him uncomfortable.)

Sure, maybe he couldn’t give her an exact or detailed explanation for why  _ he’s  _ the one who can see and interact with someone she clearly loves and not her. And also he doesn’t have much of an answer for why he didn’t tell her or anyone sooner. Nor can he tell her why it literally took the threat of death for him to even  _ consider  _ letting her and everyone else  in on the secret. 

But Lance figures that maybe he can get some wiggle room in that aspect.

Some leeway. 

A carte blanche even.

But the thing is that Lance doesn’t have to worry about those things because Allura doesn’t bring it up.

Like...at all.

Which is something Lance didn’t see coming. Well actually… he wasn’t really sure  _ what  _ to see coming- revealing that you’re the secret fifth member of the ghostbusters wasn’t exactly something he had much experience in. 

But the sudden radio silence from Allura did nothing but set him on edge. Plus it wasn’t as if she  _ wasn’t  _ anxious to talk to him- Lance had spied her watching him out of the corner of his eye when she thought he wasn’t looking. Her quick glances at him when he was bent over his monitor or fiddling with his bayard continued to poke at him even when he tried his best to ignore it.

_ ‘She’ll come when she’s ready’  _ is what he constantly repeated to himself.

Only she  _ didn’t  _ and Lance had to stop himself more than once from approaching her first- mainly because he had no idea what to say and also because he didn’t know what Allura was thinking.

Did she feel betrayed?

Lance’s chest clenched at the thought.

Hurt?

Confused?

Disbelieving?

Was she still absorbing the information? Was that what was happening? Lance imagined that if he found out that some of his deceased relatives were still...not-alive, then he might fall into some contemplative silence too. (Of course that’d mainly be because he’d be reaping his mind of what embarressing things they might’ve seen him do when he thought he was alone).

Whatever was going on it wasn’t like Lance could just fix it if he didn't even know what was going  _ on _ . He couldn’t even ask Coran for advice! Allura must’ve said something to the older Altean because everytime Lance even considered  approaching the ginger haired man he would dart away, claiming something about ‘advisor responsibilities’- which Lance totally called bullshit on. 

Coran and Allura were clearly working through some stuff, whatever it was Lance would find out eventually. But it was still a problem, not because it hurt  _ his  _ feelings.

But because it hurt Alfor’s.

Now Lance might not the most clear-headed and insightful person on the team but he knew when his friend’s were upset. 

Alfor’s eyes shone with something like hurt every time he stood in the same room as Allura- his eyes following her as she commanded the ship on the bridge, his greyed figure occasionally stepping closer but never any further whenever she would issue out a command.

Lance  _ knew  _ that Alfor had been keeping a close eye on Allura- whenever the two weren’t hanging out in his room Alfor was usually off in some other corner of the castle by himself, but Lance had caught the occasional glimpse of him during team dinners. It nearly broke Lance’s heart each time he saw Alfor standing indecisively by the door, longing shining in his eyes as he watched the team laugh and joke with each other.

It wasn’t fair. 

The Alfor that Allura and Coran once talked about was nothing like the Alfor Lance knew. A great King and caring father- Lance had seen him embody those traits before, he knew that Alfor had definitely been a force that demanded respect and radiated strength once. But the current Alfor was more like… a shadow of his former self. 

No matter how hard he tried to not see it Lance couldn’t help but focus on the lines of constant stress on Alfor’s face, how his shoulders slumped like he was drained, how his feet dragged when he walked-

Alfor was tired. Alfor was  _ exhausted _ . His only outlet, the only one around to offer any sort of validation for the pain he was putting himself through to watch over Allura and Coran was  _ Lance _ .

Alfor had been trapped in the castle-  _ alone _ . For thousands of years. Still unable to be seen or heard even when he was no longer alone. That struck something in Lance.

_ ‘But now things could be different’  _ Lance nodded to himself

The two people Alfor cared about most in the Universe  _ knew  _ he was around,  _ knew  _ that he’d been watching over them. 

That counted for something.

But the fact still remained that Allura  _ hasn’t  _ approached him first. 

For any other matter Lance would be more willing to let her come to terms at her own pace. But Alfor was  _ hurting-  _ had been for a long time. 

Lance couldn’t let that keep happening.

XxX

Unlike some of the other paladins, Allura was easy to find. Mainly because she was almost always on the bridge of the ship- doing  _ something _ . So walking onto the castle’s main deck, Lance was fully prepared to see the Altean Princess surrounded by interstellar charts and navigation maps from their latest target.

He, however,  _ wasn't  _ prepared to see Alfor standing nearby with a wistful expression, hands nervously clenched in front of him as Allura stared down at one of the holograms with a frown pulling at her lips.

Now Lance didn’t think that Alfor was  _ avoiding  _ him- it was more like the two hadn’t had a moment to themselves where they could talk since….yeah.

The sight of the older Altean almost made Lance backtrack. As soon as the thought crossed his mind Lance immediately wiped the thought away. Sure Lance wasn’t the most tactful person in the  world- but even he knew when things needed to be said. And this was one of those things.

“Allura.” Lance called out, already starting forward before his legs hesitated and carried him away from the room instead. Allura startled slightly, half-turning around to face him with an expression of surprise. From the corner of his eye, Lance could see Alfor making a similar face as he watched Lance approach the Princess.

Lance slowed to a stop, steadying himself at the stairs in front of Allura’s post. Allura’s eyes were watching him less in surprise and more in curiosity as he began rising up the slight incline to reach her.

“Hello Lance.” She greeted calmly, a careful picture of composure as she turned fully to face him. “Is something the matter?” 

It suddenly hits Lance that this is the first time Allura’s spoken to him since he came out of the healing pod. If what he recalls from his brief conversation with Keith was correct- the very last thing he said to her was about how hot he thought her dad was. _ ‘Wow okay, not off to a great start already.’ _

“Uh...kinda.” Lance begins, eyes briefly flickering to where Alfor is slowly approaching. Even if Lance had been trying to be discreet Allura probably would’ve still latched onto the sudden movement of his eyes. 

Almost instantly she tenses, her head turning to face Alfor who suddenly stops at the action. Both Blue Paladins are watching Allura’s expression as she begins scanning the side of the room Alfor was currently standing in.

For a brief moment Lance thinks she somehow accidentally meets Alfor’s eyes, the older Altean straightening from his frozen position. Whether she did or not she still doesn’t see the way Alfor’s expression crumples when her eyes move away.

Lance bites his lip, beginning to open his mouth to say  _ something  _ to Alfor, anything to take away even a pinch of the grief that seemingly floods his entire body. But just as his mouth begins to form words- Allura beats him to the punch.

“Is he here?” She asks, voice breathless. Lance turns to meet her gaze and nearly stumbles back at the slight shine of her eyes.  _ ‘Tears’  _ he thinks somewhat distantly as he slowly nods. At that Allura begins wringing her hands in front of her, almost a complete mimicry of what Alfor had been doing earlier.

“Is he…” She begins, expression hesitant. “Is he...upset with me?” She asks softly, her body curling in slightly like she was kid getting scolded. Lance is momentarily stunned.

“ _ No _ .” Alfor suddenly breaks out, stunning Lance with the ferocity in which they were said. “I..I am not.” He continues, voice lower as he gazes at Allura’s teary expression. Alfor turns his head to face Lance, brows furrowed in a silent plea. “Tell her I am not,  _ please _ .”

Lance does so without thinking. 

“He says he’s not.” Lance replies, watching as Allura slowly lifted her head to look at him.

“Ask her…” Alfor continued, voice hesitant. “If she...If  _ she  _ is upset with  _ me _ .”

“He wants to know if  _ you’re  _ upset with  _ him _ .” Lance translates immediately, watching as Allura’s expression instantly twists into fervent denial.

“No!” She yells out in a similar manner to her father. “Never! I..never…I could never...”

Despite her insistence Alfor doesn’t seem fully believe her words, his expression still one of sadness.

“Tell her…” Alfor begins. “Tell her...I am sorry...I am sorry I let him destroy our home.”

Lance has a pretty good idea about who  _ ‘him’  _ is.

“He says he’s sorry.-” 

Allura’s head tilts in confusion.

“-sorry that he…” Lance hesitates. “...that he let Zarkon destroy your home.”

“It wasn’t his fault!” Allura instantly denies, brow furrowing in a mixture of confusion and anger- at who, Lance wasn’t sure. “It is Zarkon who holds the blame for Altea’s death, not father!”

Alfor doesn’t seem to believe her.

“It was my own weakness that allowed Zarkon to succeed.” Alfor replies, staring at Allura with eyes shining in regret. “It is my weakness which forces you to continue my war- the fault of all of this...lies with me.”

“Al that’s not true.” Lance breaks out, momentarily forgetting that Allura didn’t hear what was said. “You can’t blame yourself for all of this happening- you did your best!”

Despite not hearing her father’s words Allura instantly nods in agreement, turning her head in the same vague direction that Lance is looking.

Alfor hesitates, his expression not fully believing Lance’s words.

“You were a wonderful ruler, father.” Allura begins, expression fully earnest. “You did all you could in your battle against Zarkon and I…” Allura stops. “I...was wrong to doubt you. Had we fought… then Zarkon may have taken more than just Altea.” She finishes quietly, expression downcast as she looked to the floor in slumped sadness- like some invisible weight was pressing down on her shoulders. 

“I...I will not disappoint you, father.” She says wetly, voice thick with emotion. “I know that I was not yet ready to rule Altea when I was put into the pod but-but I-I  _ swear  _ I will- I can...I can still carry on where you left o-o-off.” With each word the tremble in Allura’s shoulder’s grew, her voice shaking as she forced herself to straighten back up. Allura’s eyes were reddened with emotion and Lance knew that she was fighting against letting her tears spill.

_ ‘She’s trying to prove something by not crying.’  _ Lance realizes.

“Lance.” Alfor says hoarsely. As soon as Lance turns his head he’s met with Alfor’s own teared expression. Only Alfor’s tears have  _ actually  _ begun to fall. “ _ Please, _ I-I have to speak with her, I-I  _ need  _ to-”

Lance knows what he’s asking. For a moment a chill courses through his body, remembering what it felt like to have Alfor inhabit his body. It’d been an emergency- the team had been in a tough spot,  _ that’s  _ why Lance agreed. Lance isn’t looking for a repeat of the experience any time soon...but….

Alfor’s expression is pleading and Allura is roughly rubbing at her tears, teeth clenched in clear frustration.

...but he can make an exception just this once.

“Do what you gotta do my dude.” Lance answers weakly as Alfor starts forward, expression grateful. He doesn’t even get the chance to register the confused noise Allura makes before he feels like someone is stuffing his head with cotton.

If Lance had hoped the second time would be better than the first- he’d be wrong. Something that felt like cold fingers gripping something  _ deep  _ inside him began tugging at his body, his fingers began trembling as he began to feel a tightening in his gut. It wasn’t the same but it  _ certainly  _ wasn’t better. 

Lance’s legs began to move, approaching Allura and immediately wrapping her into a bruising hug, his hand resting on her head as his mouth began to move- softly whispering reassurances in a voice that wasn’t his.

“My dear Allura.” Alfor choked out. “My darling child.”

Allura’s breath hitched, her hands hovering over her side in what Lance could only presume was disbelief.

“Father?” She asked quietly, hesitantly- like she was afraid that someone was pulling a joke on her. 

“My juniberry blossom.” Alfor murmured. “Forgive me for leaving you to fight this war. Forgive me for not fighting harder- for not stopping Zarkon- for forcing you to fix my failures.  _ Forgive me _ .” Alfor pleaded, hugging Allura to him.

“Father.” Allura said softly, leaning into Alfor, her tensed shoulders slowly relaxing.

“Forgi-”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for!” Allura insists, face turning to face Lance incredulously. “I-” She began, “I thought...I thought I’d lost you.” She says, voice barely above a whisper.

Alfor falls silent.

“I thought Zarkon had taken  _ everything _ .” She continues, eyes growing wet. “But all this time- all this time you have been right here, right under my  _ nose-  _ but I couldn’t- I couldn’t  _ see  _ you.”

“Allur-”

“Forgive  _ me _ , Father.” Allura persists, eyes downcast as she leans into Alfor.

“You’ve done nothi-”

“Nor have you!” Allura replies strongly, eyes glaring up at Alfor. For a moment both of them fall silent, staring at one another- almost as if waiting for the other to try to insist otherwise. 

“I do not wish to cause conflict.” Alfor whispers.

“Nor do I.” Allura replies softly, shoulders slumping. 

Alfor takes a slow breath, lifting one of Lance’s hands to wipe away tears Lance hadn’t noticed spill out. The movement feels stiff to Lance but Alfor does it with such ease that he wonders if it’s just the effect of the two of them inhabiting the same body. 

As soon as the thought crosses Lance’s mind, he can begin to feel something in his gut begin to clench, like some warning to him- a warning about Alfor having stayed too long. From the way Alfor suddenly tensed up Lance realizes that he feels it too.

“I-I cannot stay.” Alfor manages to choke out as he begins to pull away from Allura. Allura’s expression immediately falls.

“Bu-”

“Lance cannot sustain this form.” Alfor cuts her off, expression remorseful. Allura’s face twists into pain.

“But I’ve just met you again, can’t you stay with me just for a moment-”

“Oh, Allura.” Alfor says softly, reaching a hand out for her even as Lance can feel his presence begin to leave. “I will be with you- even if you cannot see me.”

Lance’s vision begins to blur, knees going weak as he feels  _ something  _ leave him. Allura rushes forward- to catch him or hug him Lance doesn’t know. All he knows is how much his head is beginning to pound.

XxX

The first thing Lance notices when he opens his eyes again is that he’s still on the bridge. The second is that he’s laying on his back. And the third is that his mouth feels like it’s been glued shut, his lips are covered in dried drool and Lance instantly grimaces in disgust

“ _ Ewww _ .” He whines quietly as he struggles to sit up, head instantly swirling at the movement.

“Lance!” He hears someone exclaim before a blur of white is suddenly at his side, watching him with careful eyes as he forces himself to slump against the stairs nearby. 

“Hey ‘llura.” Lance mumbles, breathing steadily through his nose and hoping the queasy feeling in his stomach will go away soon. The Princess is silent for a long moment and against his body’s better judgment Lance turns his head to look at her. She’s fidgeting, staring at him worriedly.

“Lance.” She begins. “I-I apologize for your current discomfort. Coran had informed me of the strain you experienced as a result of piloting the castle but I still requested that my father remain-”

“Heyyyyyy,” Lance drawled, lifting a shaky hand in her direction. “Is alll gud in the neighborhoood, Princesss.” Lance began speech slurring slightly as he fought to keep his head up. Allura looked hesitant to believe him.

“How’d i’ goo?” Lance asked, shaky eyes trying to lock onto the Altean’s form. Allura paused for a moment before responding.

“I-It went...wonderfully.” Allura finally replies, something like relief in her voice. 

“Gud.” Lance responds. “Guud, guud, good.” Lance nods his head in slight approval despite the heaviness he feels beginning to settle in his head.

“Bu’ I’m confuse’,” He continues. “Wh’ were u ignorin’ me whn u had to kno’ ur dad wante’ to tallk to ya?”

At his question Allura immediately looks ashamed.

“I...I feared that...that I may not have been working to the best of my ability and that my father would be...disappointed in me. Had I not been so foolish Voltron would never have been trapped and-”

“P’shaaaa,” Lance scoffs, flapping a weakened hand at her in vague dismissal. “U n’ ur dad r both alik’- it wasn’ ur faul princess!” Lance insists as passionately as he can despite how he’s slowly lowering himself back down to the floor to lie down for a few more moments. “I dun’ think so and neitha duz ur da’ and me an him are brossss!!”

A slight smile begins tugging at Allura’s lips. 

“Bros?” She asks, eyes crinkling in amusement. Lance nods as best he can. 

“Da’ bestes’ bros!” He agrees. For a moment he hesitates, taking a second to think through his words before voicing them. “M’ sorry by duh wayy” Lance manages to get out despite how his mouth doesn’t form words the way he wants and sleep begins clouding his brain. 

“Sorry?” Allura asks.

“Fur not tellin ya earlier. Sorry.”

Allura appears stunned at his words.

“Lance- It’s alright-”

“Nah is not.” Lance interrupts. “Al’s mah bro an I didn tell you so im sorry.”

Allura stays silent, eyes watching him carefully as he turns in his side to face her.

“Me an’ u are still tight...right?” Lance asks, voice oddly worried in his deliriousness.

A smile spreads across Allura’s expression. “Yes.” She replies. “You and I are still ‘tight’.”

“Ah,” Lance breathes a sigh of relief. “Gud. I’d b weerd if we weren’ cuz ur dads my broo- hez liike...been inside me ‘llura, u cant get more bro dan dat.”

Lance’s eyelids become too heavy for him to keep open but Lance feels his eyes try to drift to Allura one more time. 

Her smile has fallen away and her expression has twisted to one of shock and tingling with disgust. 

For a moment Lance is confused before he reworks his last words to her through his head one more time. 

The realization hits him just as his eyes finally close and he drifts to sleep.

_ ‘Well fuck.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not sorry i used that as an ending joke its been on my mind for months and theres nothing any of you can do about it.
> 
> phew it was harder getting another installment out of this au than i thought which is weird since i love this au but i just drew a complete blank- hopefully you guys enjoyed it though!!!!!  
> XxX  
> come yell at me on [my tumblr](http://dairy-farmer.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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